Harmonising and reinforcing the fight against fraud across the EU: crosscutting anti-fraud policies, measures and results in 2018

• Author: European Anti-Fraud Office (European Commission)
• Pages: 17-27

17

th Annual Report on the Protection of the European Union’s financial interests — Fight against fraud 

. Harmonising and reinforcing

the fight against fraud across

the EU: crosscutting anti-fraud

policies, measures and results

in 

.. Legislative acts adopted by the EU institutions

... Regulation implementing enhanced cooperation on the

establishment of EPPO: state of play

Following the adoption of the EPPO regulation, in August 2018, the Netherlands and

Malta conf‌ir med their membership to t he EPPO, bringing the tot al number of particip ating

Member States to 22. The EPPO will be competent t o investigate, prosecute and bring to

judgment crim inal of‌fences af‌fecti ng EU’s f‌inancial inter ests as def‌ined in t he PIF Directive.

The EPPO is expected to be operational by the end of 2020, following a setting up pe-

riod of at least 3 years provided for in the EPPO Regulation. Establishing the EPPO is a

Commission prior ity and this process is well adva nced.

In 2018, the Commission appointed an interim Administrative Director, responsible for

the administrative and budgetary matters. The procedures for the recruitment of the

European Chief Prosecutor and of the European Prosecutors were also launched. The

Commission invited Member States to nominate their candidates for the position of

European Pro secutor by the end of March 2019.

The part icipating Member States are b eing consulted througho ut the process through t he

group of exper ts that was set up in accord ance with the EPPO Regu lation.

... The Omnibus Regulation

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the ‘Omnibus regulation’, was adopted on 18 July

2018. The Omnibus regulation amends the existing Financial Regulation which sets out

the overall framework for budget management, as well as a number of acts governing

the EU’s multia nnual programmes in va rious f‌ields, including c ohesion policy. The Omn ibus

regulation t herefore revises the EU ’s f‌inancial rules to simpl ify them and make them mo re

result-oriented. It includes revisions that simplify the use of f‌inancial instruments under

the Europea n Structural and Invest ment Funds.

Article 61 of th e Financial Regulation re def‌ines conf‌lict of inter ests for all f‌inancial act ors

implementing the EU budget in the various management modes, including at national

level. This is likely to e ngender a large increase in t he use of “declarations of interes t” by

f‌inancial ac tors, an increase of tran sparency, and better publ ic conf‌idence.

.. Shaping the future: European institutions’ legislative and

policy initiatives

The next se ction gives an overview of major d evelopments in Commission po licy and leg-

islative initiat ives in 2018.